Teenagers And Identity Essay

Young people, as they experience the transition from childhood into adulthood are faced with the task of determining their own self-identity. However, due to multiple contributing factors they are met with difficulties within this process. The first of these obstacles which teenagers encounter comes as a result of parental influence, and the inheritance of overwhelming expectations or lack of, from one’s parents which innately impede an adolescents pursuit for self-awareness. Moreover, as a consequence of the feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy which are often experienced during this transitional period of life, conformity and the pressure from peers and wider society to conform is another prevalent hindrance youths confront as they attempt

These difficulties often arise from the heightened susceptibility to parental influence, which occurs for youths during this period of adolescence. In effect of this influence, parents unavoidably “fill [their children] with the faults they had” (Larkin, 2001 p. 143), passing down their negative traits, through means of excessive expectations and corresponding pressures. An example of how these behaviours hinder a young person’s understanding of identity , is illustrated by Lin (2004) in the short film Perfection, where a mother’s high expectations and overbearing presence within her daughter’s upbringing, inherently leads her daughter to inherit the mother’s same destructive expectations, absorbing these as her own. As a result of this inherited self-inflicted pressure, the daughter is met with further issues as she progresses through life (Lin, 2004). These concerns include a battle with perfectionism and self-acceptance, which Lin (2004) depicts by highlighting the daughter’s unhealthy obsession with weight loss and her negative body image (Lin, 2004). Juxtaposing the effects of an overbearing parent, those who do the opposite and emotionally withdraw, are also observed to create obstacles for their children. The effects of this absence of parental support are illustrated in the film Lifted, where Rydstrom (2007) depicts the distress

As explained by Cherry (2014) two most common influences of conformity are due to normative influence; the “changing of one’s behaviour in order to fit in” (para. 12), and informational influence; the changing of one’s “behaviour in order to be correct” (para. 9). An example of conformity as a result of normative influence, is illustrated by Widyanata (2013) in the short film Plastic, where a young woman is shown to struggle with her body image, believing that in order to be perceived as beautiful she must emulate the seemingly ideal, yet destructive beauty standards published by wider media. In an instance where the young woman feels particularly insecure, she is granted the power to change her own appearance, and she enthusiastically does so, conforming to the beauty ideals which she desired (Widyanata, 2013). However, despite her initial excitement, after her transformation had been completed, Widyanata (2013) portrayed how the young woman was met with feelings of hesitation and discomfort whilst reflecting on her now unrealistic looks. In the realisation that she had unfairly discredited her own individuality, she recognised how much self-destructive the pressure to conform was for her self-identity, and thus she reversed the changes she had made (Widyanata, 2013). Taking from this example, it is evident that the destructive